My baby Diarmid MacThomson Mor (picured above in 2004) as born on July 26, 1991 in Louisville, OH. My beautiful Westie was born on
the same day as cousin Nancy - a date they shared until her death in 1996. Diarmid was also known as Darmie,
Darmie-doodle, sweetie, noisy, whiney butt, grumpy butt, old man and Blue-Boy (he wore the blue collar and coat).
My beautiful boy loved his mom and grandma. His vet Dr. Snavley said he was the whitest Westie he ever took care of.
Diarmid was a beautiful dog - his good looks got him out of a lot of trouble over the years.
When Diarmid was four weeks old I drove down to his breeder's in Louisville and got to meet the five puppies. I met his
mom and dad and then he and his siblings. There were five pups in the litter who were staying in a kids wading pool which
the breeder would keep in the living room in front of the TV. It was hot that summer and she wanted them kept in the
airconditioning and not out in her kennel runs. It was so funny to see these five little white furballs sitting there
watching MTV and bobbing their heads to an Elvis Presley song.
I picked up each of the pups to see how they reacted. There were four boys and one girl, and I wanted a boy. They were
all friendly and sweet, but one pup (Diarmid) decided that I was "his" and he would body block any of the others when
I reached my hand down to pick them up for a second time. He was marked with a dot of red nailpolish on his tail and
I drove back home. Two weeks later drove down again to see him with my folks so that they could see him and that he would get
to know them. He knew his mom the moment I walked in the door! I took the small carrier and some toys for him to play with. After about 30 minutes he went back in to the wading pool and I
took the items home so that Pooh and Maxie could get used to his smell.
Diarmid came home at the age of eight weeks weighing only two pounds with his little collar and name tag on. Cousin Kathy
drove me down to pick him up and he rode in the open carrier in my lap all the way home. We stopped at
Arby's for something to drink and there is a picture of him sitting next to a small soda cup - and he was about the same
size. He fit in the palm of my hand and would give kisses galore. On the way home we stopped at Kathy's folks house
and he met Ch. Shy Lady Lace of Mayo (Shy) a smooth Collie who couldn't figure out what this little white fluff ball
was that kept running underneath her. Diarmid connected immediately with people.
Diarmid was a cunning puppy. I had a pen downstairs in the basement for him and would put him there when it was time
for him to sleep. Next thing you knew, there was a little white furball at the bottom of the basement steps crying.
Now the pen is about 30" high and he was itty bitty. Couldn't figure out how he was getting out. Then one time
I snuck down and watched this cunning little guy actually crawl up the pen wall and jump off the top to the floor -
so much for the pen! Pooh and Maxie would go in to see him and he would come out with them. He was also known to
"herd" the cats around the house and get them to run where he wanted them to go.
He went through obedience training at puppy, beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. He loved to go and socialize
with the other pups. When he got to the advanced level he was the only small breed in the class. One day they
were doing hurdles and when it got to about 30" the trainer told him "Diarmid, I think you are done, this is too
high for you" and with that he took off, cleared the hurdle with not a single problem, landed square on his paws and
turned around giving everyone that "don't tell me I can't do it" look. No one ever told him he couldn't do something
again.
Diarmid was definately the alpha male of the household - he had to approve of who entered his household! He considered
"his" house to be our home, is grandma and grandpa's home, Aunt Ruth's home - anywhere he was with one of his family.
He also had a variety of cars which were "his". Never any fighting with any of his siblings, especially since they did
what he wanted.
Human contact 24/7 was his life. To say that
he was spoiled was an understatement. Every day my mom would pick him up and he would spend the day with his
grandparents, going for rides, getting treats and attention all day long. After work I would stop by their house
to pick him up every day!!
When he was about a year old he had gotten disconnected from his leash somehow at my folks house. They looked outside
to see him gone. Started calling his name and looking for him. Their back yard had a hill then ravine down to the river
and they searched high and low. Finally they heard a whimpering and there he was on the edge of the hill just over the
ravine. Dad couldn't get to him so he grabbed a garden hose, tied it around his waist and started down the hill. The
ground was sandy and Diarmid and he both couldn't get a footing. My dad got to him and handed him up to my mom. Just then
dad stepped on a hornets nest and was swarmed. Trying to swat them off he went off the ravine edge and fell the 30 feet
down to the river. Over 200 bites, but fortunately didn't break anything. He and Diarmid were in the local newspaper
and on the news. A copy of the newspaper article is framed in the rec room downstairs.
As Diarmid grew he got more protective. The trainer told me that he wasn't a mean or aggressive dog, but he was protective
in his places. Outside his house or car he loved everyone - just don't come near either one of them without his permission.
He loved to travel and go visit people. But, they needed his permission to enter his house when they came to visit him.
He did get used to all the Ortho team members at the annual holiday parties - he loved the attention he got from all
of them.
When he was about two I stopped at the manual car wash to get the winter
salt off the car. Since it was cold out I left the car running and the heat on for him. He decided to chase the water
and managed to lock all the car door. Had to call the police to get the door opened. It took the officer three attempts
since Diarmid kept relocking it the moment he got it open. He was very protective of his car - no one was getting near it
without his permission.
Diarmid loved to travel, car rides were one of his favorites. For many years he loved to lay in the back window and
either sleep or watch the world go by. He would rather spend the day in the car with you running errands and waiting
while you were shopping than stay at home. But, he knew when it was hot - that was when he would know "its too hot" and
would go and lay down. When it was cold he went for his coat and was content as could be.
When Diarmid was eight years old Pooh passed to the Bridge. Nine months later Maxie passed and my pretty boy was
very sad and lonely. I had always wanted to get another pup but he was not about to let me do that as long as he
had his cats. Once he was alone he was receptive to another animal and he picked out Alexander from the breeder in
Pennsylvania when he was just over eight. For the first few weeks he had to stay home with his brother who was now in the pen
and he was on the outside. His grandma would come and take him for a couple hours each day. Once Alexander was a bit
older grandma took them both to their house every day. He made sure that Alexander knew that grandma's house was
"his" house too.
When he was ten kitties Michael & Padraig joined the household. Padraig was his kitty - and Michael always had to
be touching him at night while they were sleeping on the bed. He could take up so much room for a little breed.
One day he was about 12 he was laying on the floor watching me work on something and the cats went running by and managed to toss the large
upholstered rocking chair over on to his hip - I hever heard him scream like that. Poor old guy had a bruised hip which
took a while to get comfortable. Every now an then till his last days it would bother him and he would be limping - a
baby asprin and he was all better. Only thing he could no longer do was get up and down off the furniture easily so
I got him the animal stairs so that he could get himself on to the ottoman without whining at me to put him up there.
Diarmid was always a clingy guy - never far from his people. The older he got the worse he got. You couldn't walk from
one room to another in his line of sight without him following you. Forever under foot and then would get mad at you
when you tripped over him. He simply HAD to be where the people were.
He stayed pretty active, playing with the cats and Alexander from time to time until about Thanksgiving '06. All of
the sudden the old guys age began to show. Christmas came and he didn't want to open gifts - a thing he did every year.
The best part was watching him rip the packages open every year. His fun was the wrapping, he would throw down the toy
and go to the next one to unwrap. He tried to teach Alexander over the years, but Alex just never caught on. I knew
that that would most likely be his last Christmas. He was being a "doggy sundowner" as I called him by then. When
darkness came he had trouble seeing and would get a little confused. By daytime he was back to his normal self.
On January 24, 2007 his grandma picked up he and Alexander as usual. When they got to her house he insisted that he
was going to the back of their yard by the river. It was snowy out and mom tried to get him to just go to the house.
But, he was determined and not about to do it. He stopped and looked down at the trees and river and simply collapsed and
was gone. He was two days short of 15-1/2 years of age. My mom and I took him to Dr. Snavley and he was creamated.
In the spring his ashes will be mixed with Pooh and Maxie's ashes and placed in the hole for the new front yard tree.
He will go on. He is now another one of my little stars in heaven.
He lived a long and full life and old age took him quickly. Alexander, Michael & Padraig miss him very much. The house
isn't the same. His grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles and cousins miss him too. He was my special boy, by big boy
(only 17 pounds) and my old guy. He will always be missed.
Until we meet again my lovely boy... love mom
